Consequences
by SynthaRoboto
Summary: Sometimes those who are made out to be the villain are actually the victim. The consequences of bullying can be devastating. M for self harm, suicide mention.
1. Chapter 1

Diesel 10 was a troubled engine, that much was for certain. Though he rarely acted out, when he did, he acted out spectacularly. It was because of this that many other engines feared him, especially the steam engines, who often thought of him as an evil monster.

One night, after cleaning up the debris from yet another derailment, Diesel 10 was heading home to the Dieselworks. He decided to take the track that went behind Tidmouth sheds so as to avoid attracting unwanted attention on the mainline. Now normally, he wouldn't be bothered to listen in to whatever rubbish the steam engines were talking about, but this time, the subject being discussed caught his attention.

They were talking about _him_.

"Why does the Fat Controller even keep that clawed monstrosity around? I say, it'd be better for all of us if he sent that horrid diesel away for good!" Gordon said rather loudly.

"Are you talking about…Diesel 10?" Emily said shakily.

"Of course, I'm talking about Diesel 10! Who _else_ on this island has a great, hideous claw?!" said Gordon.

"You know that claw looks a bit like an oversized pooper scooper," Thomas said, giggling. This was followed by laughter from the other engines.

"It'd suit him well to have to scoop out a giant litter box with that," Henry remarked.

"Why are you so sullen, Percy?" Emily asked.

"I just don't think it's very nice to be saying rude things behind someone's back, even if it is Diesel 10," Percy said, frowning.

"Oh, come now, Percy! It's _Diesel 10_ we're talking about here! Surely you can't be sympathizing with _him_ ," said Gordon.

"He tricked you, remember?" said Thomas.

"Well…he did, but—" Percy started.

"Diesel 10 is a bad engine through and through. I don't think he should be sent away, I think he should be scrapped!" said James.

"He's right," Henry added, "I don't think he has an ounce of good in him."

"Diesel 10 is rotten to the core," said Emily.

Having heard all of that, Diesel 10 rushed off, not caring that he had just made himself visible to the steam engines. Tears brimmed in his eyes.

 _Rotten to the core!_

 _Not an ounce of good in him!_

 _Ought to be scrapped!_

The words stung him like rusty needles. Diesel 10 could hear the whistles from behind him and sped up. Now he had an angry pack of steam engines on his tail.

"Well, speak of the devil!" Emily said crossly.

"Snooping on our sheds, disgraceful!" Gordon scoffed.

"Get back here you dirty, devious diesel!" Thomas shouted.

Diesel 10 was diverted into a siding that dead ended. There he stopped, no longer able to maintain his composure. His bawling sobs echoed for miles, thus giving away his location to anyone in the vicinity.

"There he is!" Emily said as she and the rest of the steam engines approached. They were very cross, and they didn't seem to care that Diesel 10 was genuinely upset.

"What were you doing, snooping by our sheds?!" Gordon demanded.

"You were going to smash the walls with that claw, weren't you?! Wait 'til the Fat Controller hears about this!" said Thomas.

"Guys—" Percy started.

"Maybe he'll finally have you sent away for good! Sodor would be much better off without you!" said James.

"Guys, he's crying—" Percy started.

"Good!" Gordon boomed. "He deserves it!"

"Who's crying now, Diesel 10?!" Emily sneered.

"Crocodile tears," James snorted.

"Come on, let's leave him to wallow," said Gordon.

At that, the steam engines headed back to Tidmouth sheds, leaving Diesel 10 by himself.

The next morning, the engines at Tidmouth sheds were having their fires lit as the Fat Controller was telling them their jobs for the day. All seemed normal until an airhorn sounded.

"Not _him_ again," Gordon groaned.

James was about to make another rude remark, but he and everyone else fell silent when they saw the warship approach, holding a large piece of old piping that had been broken off on one end, leaving a sharp point.

They had all expected them to attack them, or even crush the Fat Controller. However, no one saw what happened next.

Diesel 10 glared at all of them. His face had visible tear stains, and he was breathing heavily. "This is your fault," he hissed. "You did this to me!"

Suddenly, his claw swung upwards. The Fat Controller jumped clear of him, and the steam engines braced for impact, but Diesel 10 didn't strike them. With a sudden, downwards swing, he drove the piece of piping straight into his own forehead. The Fat controller, his guards, the steam engines, and their crews, all stared in shock. The screeching of tearing metal was the only sound heard as the piping went deep into Diesel 10's inner workings. His eyes rolled back, and his claw fell to the ground, hanging limply at his side.

For a few tense moments, a heavy silence hung in the air, only to be broken by shocked gasps and the sound of retching as Henry spewed up water and ash.

The Fat Controller shook himself off, regaining his own composure. "Well! Is he still with us?!" he demanded.

His guards quickly trotted over to Diesel 10, giving him a good once-over. "Just barely, sir." The first guard replied.

"Edward! Take him to the Dieselworks immediately!" the Fat Controller ordered as he stepped into the old engine's cab.

Edward didn't need to be told twice. Without a word he was coupled to Diesel 10. He gave the others a harsh look before he started off. The Fat Controller leaned out of Edward's cab, glaring at the others. "You lot will remain here until I return!" he ordered.

The remaining steam engines gulped as Edward picked up speed and disappeared from sight. For the most part, they stayed silent, save for Percy, who was quietly crying. None of them had expected Diesel 10 to do _that_.

Hours later, Edward returned; a sullen look on his face. The Fat Controller stepped out and stormed towards the sheds with a look of anger and disgust on his face. The engines in the sheds exchanged glances, knowing they were in deep trouble.

"Never in my life have I been so utterly disappointed and frankly, disgusted by your actions!" The Fat Controller boomed. The tone and volume of his voice startled them all. "I am deeply ashamed of _all of you_! Edward told me how badly you've been treating Diesel 10 lately, but I _never_ expected you to take it this far! Tormenting him to the point of trying to take his own life! You've brought shame upon this railway." The Fat Controller's voice was low and severe.

The engines were silent as the rotund man continued: "You should know by now that words can hurt just as bad as anything. Because of your cruel words, one of my engines is barely clinging to life. I will uphold my father's promise to never scrap an engine on this railway, but do not think you will be getting away with this! Every one of you who was involved in this will be punished severely!"

The engines once again exchanged glances, gulping.

"Gordon!" The Fat Controller boomed. "I will not have a bully pulling the express! Consider yourself permanently on freight duty."

"But, sir-!" Gordon protested.

"But NOTHING!" the Fat Controller snapped. "There are other engines just as capable of pulling the express, and if by some miracle, Diesel 10 recovers, he will be taking your place!"

At that, everyone gasped.

"James," The Fat Controller said, almost growling, causing the red engine to inch backwards. "You are to go straight to the Steamworks! I've arranged for the workmen to give you a fresh coat of _dull grey paint_."

James sputtered in response, not believing what he was hearing. The Fat Controller continued: "Your red paint is a privilege which has now been revoked! Now, to the Steamworks!" he ordered.

"Y…Yes, sir…" James mumbled as he slowly steamed away.

"Henry and Emily, you two are to remain in your sheds until I say you can come out. I want you to think long and hard about what you did." The Fat Controller said sternly, before turning to Thomas.

"Thomas the Tank Engine!"

Thomas cringed as the Fat Controller stormed right up to him. He knew he was in worse trouble than he'd ever been in before.

"I am incredibly disappointed in you. You of all engines should know better! I am hereby stripping you of your branchline and putting you on shunting duties!" The Fat Controller said in a deadly serious voice.

Thomas gasped. "But what about Annie and Clarabel?" he said.

"Diesel and Paxton can handle them just fine," the Fat Controller said dismissively. "Now, to the shunting yards with you, NOW!"

Thomas flinched before steaming off. No one had ever seen the Fat Controller this upset before, and no one wanted to upset him further. The gravity of what had happened was only starting to sink in, though, as the wounds were still fresh and the shock had not yet worn off.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a couple of days since Diesel 10 had attempted to take his own life, and his condition was unknown to the engines who resided at Tidmouth sheds. Thomas was begrudgingly shunting the very trucks that Diesel would normally be shunting. While he didn't mind Paxton pulling Annie and Clarabel, he was still quite salty about the fact that Diesel would be sharing that job.

Thomas was trying to ignore the stinging guilt that was building up inside of him. This was different than the usual guilt he experienced after causing mere confusion and delay. This guilt was painful and heavy, and deep down, he _knew_ he had messed up in a way that may never be reconciled. Instead, he tried to focus on how ticked off he was that Diesel was now pulling his coaches. As he bashed the trucks around rather carelessly, his train of thought was interrupted by Paxton, who came into the yard looking unusually sullen.

"Hello Paxton," Thomas called out, hoping for a conversation to get his mind off things. Paxton, however, just gave him a dirty look in response. Thomas stopped what he was doing and chuffed up to the little green diesel, looking concerned. "Is something wrong?" he inquired.

Paxton slowed to a stop, glaring at Thomas. His lower lip quivered; he looked ready to cry.

"Paxton?" Thomas said quietly.

"Get away from me, Thomas!" Paxton snapped.

Taken aback by this, Thomas stood in stunned silence for a moment, before once again pulling up to the green shunter. "Paxton, what's the matter?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"My best friend tried to scrap himself, that's what's the matter!" Paxton said, sounding almost hysterical. Before Thomas could respond, Paxton slammed into his buffers with great force, sending him rolling backwards. "Diesel 10 is _not_ a monster! Diesel 10 is my FRIEND! And you _hurt_ him! You _hurt_ my _friend_!" Paxton shouted, bashing into Thomas' buffers repeatedly.

"OW! Paxton—OW! Stop it, Paxton!" Thomas exclaimed.

Paxton gave Thomas a good thrashing before speeding off, crying hysterically. Thomas was left sore and stunned. He had never seen Paxton angry before, and angry with _him_ no less. Thomas looked down. The guilt that he had been trying to suppress all day had now bubbled up to the surface. He had hurt another engine very badly, not by bashing them with his buffers, but rather, with his words. All those times that Thomas has assumed that Diesel 10 was up to no good, was he really? Thomas now questioned his own judgment. Had he and the other steam engines been wrong about the warship?

At the Dieselworks, Diesel 10 sat in front of his shed, hooked up to all manner of tubes and wires. Part of his side panel had been removed so as to allow access to his inner workings. The massive hole in his forehead had been packed and bandaged tightly.

The Fat Controller was there, sitting atop a stepladder, gently patting the big diesel's face. Topham looked downcast; his hat crumpled on one hand. "Words cannot express how sorry I am," he said glumly.

The only response from the warship was to open his eyes slightly, but it was a response nonetheless. Topham knew that Diesel 10 was in an extremely weakened state, one he may never come out of.

"I've let you down," Topham said sadly. "If I had known that you were being treated this badly perhaps I could have prevented this…" Topham sighed heavily. "I shouldn't have let the fact that this railway is a steam heritage railway cloud my judgment to the point of neglecting and ignoring my diesels. I am as much to blame as any of my steam engines," he said, wringing his hat in his hands.

Momentarily, the Fat Controller looked up, and realized that Diesel 10 was looking back at him through half-lidded eyes.

"Diesel 10, I beg of you, don't give up. I can remedy this, I can make things better for you," the Fat controller pleaded.

Diesel 10 made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a sigh. The Fat Controller continued: "I've already disciplined the engines who were involved in treating you badly. If I find out any others have treated you in the same manner they will also be punished."

Diesel 10 looked at him again, this time with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Provided that you recover from this, I want you to pull the express," the Fat Controller said, patting the warship's cheek softly. "Gordon has been demoted from the role of express engine. I will not have a bully pulling the Wild Nor'wester!"

Topham looked at his watch and hopped down from the stepladder he was sitting on. "I must be going now, I do have a railway to run," he said. Before leaving, he looked back at Diesel 10, he said, "I care about all of my engines. Please, remember that."


	3. Chapter 3

The Fat Controller certainly had a lot on his plate. Diesel 10 was still in terrible condition, and he had to make many arrangements for other engines to do the jobs of James, Gordon, Henry, and Emily. He had just gotten off the phone with the Dieselworks manager when he stepped out of his office and onto the platform at Knapford Station. There, James slowly pulled in, looking completely humiliated. There was no sudden stopping, no grandiose announcement of "Here's James!"

"James, what are you doing here? Your goods train is waiting in the yard!" the Fat Controller said sternly.

"Sir, if I could—" James began.

"You will go to the yard and fetch your goods train! NOW, James!" the Fat Controller said severely, shaking his finger at the once red engine.

James scrunched up his face and stormed off to the yard. "This is ridiculous! It's not _my_ fault Diesel 10 decided to stab himself in the face with a piece of scrap!" he huffed indignantly to himself. "And this paintjob doesn't suit me at all! The nerve, taking away my splendid red paint!"

"Oh, be quiet!" Diesel snapped as he was coupled to Annie and Clarabel. "Nobody wants to hear you complaining about your selfish self!"

Diesel wanted to storm off, but he set off carefully due to having the coaches in tow. After all, he knew better than to be rough with coaches. He continued on to Thomas' former branchline, not saying a word. That is, until Annie spoke up.

"Oh, I do miss Thomas,"

"Me too, Annie…I do hope he can come back to his branchline," Clarabel lamented.

"That'll be up to the Fat Controller," Diesel said in a surprisingly understanding manner. "I miss shunting trucks myself."

"Maybe if you ask the Fat Controller—" Annie began.

"No," Diesel interrupted. "I'm pulling you two because the Fat Controller knows I won't be rough with you two. You wouldn't want someone like Bill or Ben pulling you," he said

"Heavens no!" Annie said, and Clarabel shuddered at the thought.

"You have been treating us very well, Diesel, but we do miss Thomas," said Clarabel.

"I know that, but it's not my fault _Thomas_ decided to be a massive arsehole and make Diesel 10 feel like he'd be better off scrapped!" Diesel snapped. "Oh…I don't mean to take it out on you," he said with a sigh, looking down at the rails. "I…I'm worried about him."

At the Dieselworks, Diesel 10 had woken up completely. The workmen were running some tests on him and doing their best to repair the extensive damage.

"Hello, Diesel 10," Dart greeted the bigger engine.

Diesel 10 paid him no mind; he merely looked down at his buffers.

"Alright, um…I'm gonna have you try to move your claw a bit. Can you do that?" Dart asked. Still, the warship gave no response other than a dejected ghost of a sigh. "I just want you to try, Diesel 10," Dart said.

Diesel 10 looked to the side rather pointedly.

"Please?" Dart pleaded.

"Why bother?" Diesel 10 muttered weakly.

The sound of car tires caught everyone's attention. The Fat Controller stepped out of his vehicle and strode over to Diesel 10. "Ah, you're awake," he said, looking rather relieved.

Diesel 10 narrowed his eyes as the fat man approached. With a rather nasty squelching noise, he collected the fluids that had been pooling in his mouth and spit them out, showering the Fat Controller in a disgusting mixture of spit, blood, and oil.

Everyone else gasped. No one dared say a word as the Fat Controller recoiled in disgust, flicking the nasty fluid off of himself as much as he possibly could, He momentarily raised his finger, taking a breath before lowering his hand. "I…I deserved that," he said glumly.

Den and Dart stared in surprise. They had most certainly not expected that reaction. The Fat Controller took a few steps forward, only to be met with another vile projectile from the stricken warship.

"Spit at me all you want, Diesel 10," the Fat Controller said as he continued to approach. He was met with several more spit-showers before he finally reached Diesel 10's buffers, upon which the warship snorted and looked away pointedly.

"Well, you've gone and ruined a perfectly good suit and hat. Are you happy now?" The Fat Controller said, only to be met with a loud snort and a low growl. "…I'll take that as a no," he said, climbing awkwardly onto one of Diesel 10's buffers. "I'm well aware that I've given you no reason to trust me. I haven't even done so much as earn your respect. I want to change that," he said softly.

At that, Diesel 10 stopped growling and grunting. He eyed the fat man with suspicion.

"My father didn't care for diesels very much, and when I inherited his railway, I also inherited you lot. I've tried to improve upon the areas where he had fallen flat…I know now my efforts weren't enough." The Fat Controller gave Diesel 10's cheek a pat. "The way my engines treated you is completely unacceptable! My father may have let that kind of behavior slide, but I most certainly won't! Unfortunately, I was unaware that this had even been happening until…" he trailed off, shutting his eyes tightly as he remembered the incident from a few days ago.

"I promise to listen to you from now on. I don't want to lose such a unique and precious engine such as yourself," the Fat Controller said softly.

Diesel 10's eyes widened. He could hardly believe what he was hearing, but Topham seemed sincere. As the fat man awkwardly climbed down from his buffer, he once again gave the warship a pat. "I'd best be going now, I must get changed—er, you get plenty of rest and don't strain yourself," he said.

As he went back to his car, he let out a sigh. "Dear oh dear," he muttered to himself. He hoped that Diesel 10 could be repaired, though it wasn't looking good for him. The Dieselworks manager had told him earlier that some of the damage may very well be irreparable, but they had no way of knowing how much it would impact Diesel 10's ability to function. That is, if he survived the next few days.


End file.
